Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan

Force in Play

De facto head of state; rejects a ceasefire unless the RSF disarms

Sudan's army and a rival paramilitary force have fought for three years. On June 8, the United States and seven allies threw their weight behind a new plan: get Sudanese civilians, not the two warring generals, to negotiate the country's future.

Updated Jun 8

Force in Play

Leading SAF military campaign; returned government to Khartoum in January 2026

The United Nations reopened its Khartoum headquarters Thursday, nearly three years after staff fled when civil war broke out in April 2023. The Sudanese Armed Forces recaptured the capital in March 2025, and more than two million people have since returned.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

Leading SAF military operations from Port Sudan and recaptured Khartoum

Sudan's civil war has entered a new phase defined by drone strikes that hit markets, hospitals, and roads nearly every day. On March 26, two strikes killed at least 28 civilians—22 at a market in Saraf Omra, North Darfur when one hit a parked oil truck, and six along a road in Kordofan. The market strike ignited part of the market, and an infant was among the 22 dead.

Updated May 30

Built World

Leading Sudan's military in civil war while navigating GERD dispute

Ethiopia flipped the switch on Africa's largest dam September 9, 2025, without Egypt's blessing. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam holds 74 billion cubic meters of water, enough to double Ethiopia's power output and, Egypt fears, cut freshwater supplies for 107 million Egyptians.

Updated May 19

Force in Play

De facto head of state, controls central and eastern Sudan

Two of every five Sudanese now lack enough food. Three UN agencies said on May 15 that 19.5 million people across Sudan face crisis-level hunger after three years of war between the national army and a paramilitary force.

Updated May 15